Early Childhood Education Programs as Protective Experiences for Low-Income Latino Children and Their Families

Abstract

Research is accelerating toward a deeper understanding of early childhood education (ECE) environments as protective experiences for Latino children; however, more work remains. This paper provides a review of the evidence that ECE environments benefit Latino children and mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and other poverty-related risks; however, Latino families face numerous barriers to accessing ECE opportunities for their children. While enrollment by Latino children in ECE programs has grown in prior decades, further increases in access to ECE are needed to benefit Latino children, who are disproportionately impacted by poverty. In addition, ECE programs, especially high-quality and dual generation–focused programs like Early Head Start and Head Start, are in a strong position to help offset the risk for poor educational and mental health outcomes due to Latino’s children’s exposure to stressors such as discrimination and ACEs. Gaps remain in how well ECE is serving Latino families due to a combination of factors including parental work schedules, heritage language and cultural factors, and the lack of affordable and available ECE programs in Latino communities. To remedy these gaps, researchers must continue to further elucidate the needs, preferences, and gaps regarding access to early care and education opportunities for Latino children. For those studying trauma and ACEs among low-income children, greater attention to how preventative interventions or treatments that are embedded in ECE settings serve Latino populations is warranted, as this has the tremendous potential to mitigate the long-term impact of ACEs on Latino children. The paper concludes with a set of early childhood practice and policy recommendations for enhancing protective experiences for low-income Latino children.

Neither Resiliency-Trait nor Resilience-State: Transactional Resiliency/e

“…Therefore, from the transactional social-ecological perspective, resilience is a developmental process, capacity, and outcome despite adverse life events or situations at any point across the lifespan or at any age. As a dynamic process, it involves transactions between the individual and their ever-changing environment (Masten, 2007; Smith, 2020); it enables positive adaptation in the context of significant adversity (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020; Luthar et al, 2000); and it is affected by both neural and psychological self-organization, including transactions between the ecological context and the developing organism (Masten & Narayan, 2012). As a capacity, it refers to the extent to which individuals exhibit resourcefulness and exert effort to negotiate, manage, and adapt to conditions of stress or trauma (Windle et al, 2011); to regulate and cope with stress in everyday life (DiCorcia & Tronick, 2011); and to use available internal and external resources in response to different contextual and developmental challenges (Pooley & Cohen, 2010) or against disturbances threatening personal viability or development (Masten, 2001).…”

“…Different approaches and disciplines of psychology have led to differences in the terms used to describe the phenomenon (Atkinson et al, 2009; Southwick et al, 2014). The research has been based on either an ecological system approach to resiliency as a trait stable over time (Bonanno et al, 2015; Connor & Davidson, 2003; Wagnild & Young, 1993) or a transactional/social-ecological approach to resilience as a state, an adaptive system of family, community, or society (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020; Henry et al, 2015; Sameroff, 2010; Smith, 2020; Stokols et al, 2013; Ungar, 2012). To address this difference, the term “resiliency” for the trait-like conception and the term “resilience” for the state-like conception are suggested (Luthar et al, 2000).…”

Improving Knowledge and Attitudes About Child Trauma Among Parents and Staff in Head Start Programs

“…However, important knowledge gaps were identified related to potential symptoms or signs of child trauma such as loss of developmental milestones, and eating and sleeping problems. Preschool and ECE providers are well-positioned to play a critical role in alerting parents to developmental concerns given their daily interaction, prior to school entry (Lipkin & Macias, 2020 ; Smith, 2020 ). Hence, building the capacity of the preschool and ECE workforce to recognize potential signs of trauma is a first step in helping families access the resources and support they need to help their children thrive.…”

The modern military leader as sensemaker on the battlefield

“…'Resilience' and 'resiliency' (see Kreuckel et al, 2020;Maddi et al, 2012;Peterson et al, 2011) refer to the plasticity of the individual, team or system and the ability to adapt to stress in order to deal effectively with the situation and then return to baseline functioning afterwards. 'Resilience' therefore refers to a state rather than the more stable personality-trait concepts of grit and hardiness that contribute to resilience and resiliency (see Bartone, 1994;Kowalski & Schermer, 2018;Smith, 2020). Whereas resilience can be seen as the relationship or manner in which the individual interacts with the external environment, hardiness mostly refers to the internal make-up of the individual that allows him or her to be resilient in the face of adversity (see Ledesma, 2014).…”